Medical practitioners, pharmacies, hospitals and other professional healthcare related services have stringent regulations regarding use and management of pharmaceutical products. This includes handling of surplus pharmaceuticals, among others pharmaceuticals signed out to a patient which the patient did not take, or pharmaceuticals which are out of date. Whenever stock-controlled drugs are disposed of, details regarding the relevant drug are entered in the drugs register, before disposal.
Disposed solid drugs are however, often accumulated in rather simple containers, typically produced of cardboard or plastic with a removable lid. All kinds of solid drugs are mixed into these containers, both nonprescription and prescription drugs. Theft or loss from these containers are not easily discovered, due to the easy access, the amount of mixed tablets, pills, capsules and the like in the container, and because the drugs are removed from all registers as they are disposed. Health care workers often consider this as a security break, and there is a mismatch between the levels of control of the drugs before and after they are disposed.
By “solid drugs” or “solid pharmaceuticals” it is meant all kinds of pharmaceuticals in solid form, such as, but not limited to tablets, pills, capsules (both plain and coated), ampulla, vials, sucking tablets, sweets, chewing gum, pessaries, vaginal tablets, suppositories as well as pellets and the like.
An object of the invention is to provide a closed container for safe disposal of solid pharmaceuticals, wherein the disadvantages mentioned above is avoided. Further, it should be difficult to remove pharmaceuticals being disposed in the container. Yet another object of the invention is that the container should be easy to label and cost-efficient to produce.
The objects above are fulfilled with a container according to the characterizing part of the independent patent claims.